It Gets Better, Right?
by thewordwizard21
Summary: Summary: (Badass! Santana and Nerd! Brittany/ mentions of other characters) Brittany and her sister Quinn are new to McKinley High School. Quinn is a junior while Brittany is a sophomore, and one of the girls has an easier time adjusting to the new life, new friends, and new school than the other. What happens when the shy/nerdy Brittany literally runs into her worst nightmare?
1. Chapter 1

**Re-uploaded so the text is actually readable! Don't know what happened before. This is just the introduction chapter, so stick around for more and review if you have ideas! :)**

**Chapter 1**

It's the end of August, which can only mean one thing—summer is officially over.

A warm breeze flows through Brittany's open window. The sounds of birds chirping and chimes swaying in the wind move through the air. It's a peaceful, calm, summer morning. Brittany shifts in her bed, a smile crossing her face as she hears the sounds of summertime. "BRITTANY!" she here's a voice scream her name and jolts upright in bed. She's quick to pull the sheet over her head when she realizes that it's her sister Quinn, calling her down for breakfast. "Ugh_," _she groans and peaks her head out to look at her clock on the nightstand next to her bed. It's 6:31am and Brittany knows that her and Quinn can't be late for their first day at their new high school. Quinn may be excited, but Brittany is not looking forward to their new start. Not that it could be any worse than her old school. But their dad was offered a better job so they had to make the move to small town Lima, Ohio. Reluctant, she drags her slender frame out of bed, side-stepping all the moving boxes scattered across her floor. _Great, just when I thought bullies were the only thing I would have to side-step..._Brittany is quickly pulled out of her thoughts by a tapping on her bedroom door.

"Britt?" she hears Quinn's muffled voice.

"One sec!" Britt reaches out to open the door.

Her older sister smiling from ear to ear, typical Quinn. It would be an understatement to say that Quinn is excited about their first day. She's your typical popular high school girl; captain of her cheerleading squad back at their old school, lucky with the boys, smart, beautiful, the list goes on. The nice thing about Quinn though, is while she is the essence of popularity she's also sweet. Perhaps she developed her sweet side after watching Brittany get bullied for years. Perhaps it was her sister's countless fallen tears, or the days she begged their parents to let her stay home from school. Perhaps that has something to do with it.

"Britt you have to hurry or we're gunna be late!" Quinn says to her sister.

Brittany turns on her heels and grabs her glasses from the nightstand and places them on her face.

"Now that I can see you clearly, I have to ask…" Britt starts.

"Okay?" Quinn waits for her sister to finish.

"Do you always have to be this enthusiastic on the first day of school?" the girls share a laugh.

"Britt, I love you, but you know how I feel about these things," she starts. "You just have to tell yourself that today will be a great day, and then it will." Quinn gives her a smile and a little shoulder squeeze before she turns, but pauses before she walks away completely.

"For such a good student, you really hate school," Quinn begins. "Kind of ironic huh?"

Brittany shifts on her feet and puts her head down. Quinn gives her a sad smile and walks away. Brittany picks her head up. "Yeah Quinn, kind of" she whispers into the summer air. So much for a good morning.

It's 7:03am when Brittany slinks down the steps. She's wearing her black RayBan glasses, a white v-neck t-shirt with a royal blue cardigan over top, black skinny jeans, and a pair of beat up blue converse sneakers. Her long blonde hair is pulled into a messy bun. Sure, her fashion sense isn't quite like Quinn's, who might I add is dressed in a white and red sundress with matching red pumps, but Brittany feels comfortable in what she wears. She doesn't really like to stand out. She would much rather go to school, do her work, keep to herself, and be able to come home unscathed. She can only hope for the best, but given her past, she can't help but feel uneasy about entering her new high school.

_Flashback: Moon High School, Pittsburgh (Brittany is a freshman and Quinn is a sophomore)_

"_Come on Blondie, stand the hell up!" one of the jock's from the football team yelled at Brittany in the school hallway. _

"_I-I, please just leave me alone," Brittany manages to say. _

"_Excuse me?" the jock sounds appalled. _

"_I'm just trying to get to my locker, and get my things," Brittany says standing up._

"_Oh, now someone seems to have found their voice?" the jock smirks. "But I don't appreciate being talked back to."_

"_O-oh, I-I, I was just, uhm…" Brittany trips over her words, fear pumping in her veins once more. _

"_Guys!" the jock yells out, and his group of friends appears. "Take care of this stupid loser."_

"_Wa-wait, what?" Brittany tries to resist, but two of the bigger guys grab her arms and pull her into their locker-room. They continue to shove her up against the lockers and the one gets in her face._

"_You think just because she spoke to you once means you're some hot shot now?" he yells in rage, spit flying from his mouth and smacking her in the eyes. She winces. _

"_I-I-I, n-no I didn't mean anything b-by i-i-it," Brittany averts her gaze. _

"_You're just a poor little loser, sweetie, no girl or boy is ever going to want you, especially her," he states harshly. "I'm surprised your parents haven't kicked you to the curb yet, you, you waste of space!"_

_Brittany can't help the tears that start falling. All she ever wanted was a friend. A real friend, not her sister Quinn or her parents. Someone to call when she has a bad day, someone to eat popcorn with and have a movie marathon, someone to dance around with to bad pop music. The tears keep falling, even harder now._

"_Oh, poor baby, did I make you cry?" he says. "You gunna run to big bad Quinn now? Tell mommy and daddy?" Brittany doesn't move, she just keeps her head down. _

"_They're never going to be able to save you, hun, so just give up now while you still can," he states finally and shoves Brittany across the locker-room where she falls into the wooden benches on her left side. The guys just laugh at her mangled body balled up on the ground and they walk out of the locker room. She tries to move, but a sharp pain shoots through her ribs on her left side. She lets out a small whimper. She's sure one of her ribs is broken, or at least severely bruised, much like her self-esteem. Mustering all the strength she has, she uses the bench to pull herself up to a standing position and leans against the red lockers. She pulls out her phone and sends a text to Quinn right away, not caring if her action makes her a coward. _

_**To Quinn: **__I'm in the boys locker room, please hurry._

_**To Britt: **__What? Why! Are you okay? I'm on my way Britt…_

_**To Quinn**__: They found out about…her…_

_**To Britt**__: Shit. Just hang on Britt._

_Suddenly the boys locker room door bursts open and in comes a worried looking Quinn Pierce. Brittany is lying on the bench she was thrown into, trying to muffle her cries of pain, but it's almost too much to bear. _

"_Britt!" Quinn calls out. _

"_Over here," Brittany says in a tired tone, trying to conserve her energy. _

"_Oh my god, Britt," Quinn begins to say. "What happened babe?" Quinn runs over to her sister and kneels down next to the bench that Brittany is lying on. Quinn takes her sister's hand and begins to rub small circles on the inside of her wrist. _

"_They found out about that one girl," Brittany finally says. _

"_I don't understand…" Quinn begins._

"_She was the only person that ever tried to get to know me," Brittany says sniffling. "She was the only one that seemed to care about me and now she's just gone."_

"_Britt don't say that, you don't that for sure," Quinn says. _

"_Yes I do!" Brittany yells as she attempts to sit up, but winces audibly from the shooting pain in her left side. Quinn raises an eyebrow at her sister's discomfort. _

"_What happened?" Quinn asks. _

"_The jocks happened…" Brittany says with a sigh. _

"_Brittany, what did they do to you?" there's a hint of anger in Quinn's voice._

"_Th-they, u-uhm…" Brittany's voice trails off, but Quinn isn't giving her any chances to escape telling the truth. Finally Britt gives in. _

"_Fine, they cornered me at my locker…" Brittany begins, frustration laced in her voice. "…a they knocked my books to the ground. They pinned me to my locker and called me stupid, a loser. He said she just felt sorry for the pathetic excuse of a person I am. That I'll never have any real friends, and to give up now while I still have a chance." At this point Brittany is sobbing into Quinn's shoulder, and Quinn has her arms wrapped around Britt's neck, holding her close for comfort. _

"_Britt, what else?" Quinn whispers to her. _

"_Th-they dr-dr-dragged me i-into the locker room a-a-and spit on me and threw me i-i-into the be-bench," Brittany barely managers to get out in between sobs. Quinn's eyes begin to water at the thought of her poor baby sister being bullied so severely. "Quinn, I th-thi-think my ribs are br-brok-broken," Brittany holds onto her left side in agony and continues to cry. _

"_Shhhh, Britt it's gunna be okay, I promise," Quinn reassures her and rubs her back soothingly, but secretly she doesn't know if it really will be okay._

"_I can't do this anymore Quinn, I just can't," Brittany mumbles into her sister's shoulder._

"Britt do you have your keys?" Quinn asks as they walk out their front door.

"Right here," Brittany holds up her car keys, jingling them a little bit. Quinn throws her a smile and opens the passenger side door. Brittany gets into the driver side and puts the key into the ignition, taking a deep breath and releasing a long sigh.

"Are you going to start the car babe?" her sister asks, obviously in a hurry to get to school. Quinn never has any problems fitting in, so of course she's anxious to get there.

"Ye-yeah, sorry, just thinking," Brittany says before starting up her 2014 black BMW Sport SUV. Brittany may get bullied, but thanks to her parents, she's able to drive around a nice car. At least in there she can feel safe and secure.

It's a little before 8:00am when the girls pull into a spot at their new high school. Grabbing their bags from the backseat, they begin the walk to the front doors. Brittany fidgets with her hands and keeps her gaze down. Quinn, of course, walks with her head held high and a smile on her face. Brittany glances at her sister and thinks, _what does she have that makes her so different from me? _

"Britt, you coming?" Quinn nudges her arm. She didn't realize that she stopped just outside the doors.

"Yeah, sorry, just thinking," Brittany says with a sigh and walks into her new school after her sister.

"Here are your lockers ladies," Principal Figgins states in a very monotone voice, they've noticed.

"Thank you sir," they answer simultaneously.

The principal walks away after handing them their schedules for class, and to Brittany's dismay her and Quinn don't have a single class period together. Not even lunch. _Since when do schools have more than one lunch period?_

"Hey, don't worry okay?" Quinn says. "You'll be fine, new start right?"

"I guess so," Brittany says as she swings her backpack over her shoulder.

"We should get to our first class, text me if you need anything," and with that her sister Quinn disappeared down the hall.

"Yeah sure, I'll text you…" Brittany says to the now empty hall.

Brittany looks over her schedule. For the majority she's enrolled in advanced placement classes, with the exception of gym and creative writing. She smiles, seeing that her writing class is the last one of her day. At least she has something to look forward to each day. But for now, it's time to get to "Honors Calculus." She finds room 203, and feels like she's going to throw up or pass out or quite possibly both, but reaches for the door handle anyways. She slowly walks into the room, terrified, but relieved when the teacher greets her with a warm smile and her own math book. The teacher proceeds to tell her to take a seat next to a boy named Dave. She can feel everyone's eyes on her as she moves toward the middle of the room. Now she really might throw up. Pushing it down, she sets her book on the desk and hangs her bag on the back of her chair. She goes to sit in her seat and just as she does Dave pushes her book and notepad off the desk. The classroom of students begin to chuckle under their breath. Brittany isn't going to let this little joke get to her though. It's all in good fun right? She's the new girl so everyone likes to have a good laugh in the beginning and then it's all forgotten a minute later. Everything is fine. Brittany just shakes her head and smiles slightly, standing up and picking her things up, placing them back on her desk. When she goes to sit back down she doesn't realize that her chair has been pulled out further than before and falls flat to the ground. The back of her head smacks the edge of her metal seat and she thinks she's going to have a breakdown. Holding back tears, she picks herself up and slides into her chair, trying to ignore that laughter of her classmates.

"Nice one dude," another boy says to Dave and they tap knuckles.

"Fresh meat is always the easiest to break," Dave says back to his friend with a smirk.

Brittany can't believe this is actually happening to her…again. She's even more shocked when she realizes that Dave is trying to talk to her.

"I-I'm sorry, what?" Brittany stutters.

"God, are you stupid or something?" Dave mumbles. "I asked where you're from?"

Just as she's about to think of something to say, the bell rings. She quickly grabs her things and rushes out the door. A single tear slides down her cheek, but she's quick to brush it away with her sleeve. She turns the corner to go to her locker when suddenly she's lying flat on the ground. _Why does this keep happening to me?_

"God, can't you watch where the fuck you're going?" she hears a girl's voice say. Brittany looks up and becomes mesmerized by the girl standing over her. Her eyes are a such a deep brown color that they almost appear black, and her raven colored hair hangs in loose waves over her shoulders. "I-I'm so-sorry," Brittany begins. "I di-didn't se-se-see you there."

"Whatever stutters, but you're on my fucking list," and with that the girl is gone. Brittany wonders how someone so beautiful can sound so cruel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter update everyone! Thanks for coming back to read. I hope you stick with the story. I really want to update more often, but I just went on vacation so I got a little sidetracked! Anyways, as always, enjoy! Review if you'd like. As questions if you'd like. You know the drill. **Trigger Warnings** Contains severe bullying, physical and emotional abuse, and mature language. I do not own any rights to these characters. **

**Chapter 2**

She's still lying on the floor where that beautiful girl left her. Right outside of room 203. She closes her eyes, remembering the sway of her hips and the rasp behind her velvety voice. Brittany doesn't even really care that the girl just stood there and insulted her. It doesn't matter now though; she'll never see her mystery girl again. She doesn't even know her name for crying out loud!

The shuffle of footsteps quickly snaps Brittany back to her woeful reality. Her eyes burst open, but all she sees is white. _Oh right, I'm lying on the floor. _She lets out a deep breath and jumps up from the ground, brushing herself off to ensure she doesn't make an even bigger fool out of herself. _Here's hoping_. Just as Brittany reaches to pick her bag up off of the floor and throw it across her shoulder, she hears her name being called.

"Britt!" she recognizes her sister's voice and smiles.

"Oh hey, funny seeing you here," Brittany returns with a wink. Her sister chuckles, glad to see that maybe the other girl isn't having too bad of a first day.

"So, I take it you're doing okay?" Quinn asks.

"Oh, uhm, sure," Brittany stumbles over her words ever so slightly, but enough for Quinn to notice.

"What do you mean?" Quinn gives her a pointed look.

"Nothing, it's fine Quinn," Brittany says.

"Britt-" Quinn starts, but is quickly interrupted.

"Save it, I should be used to this by now right?" Brittany says with a sad smile. Quinn reaches out and gives her sister's shoulder a tight squeeze. They exchange smiles.

"People are just jealous babe," Quinn tells her.

"Oh yeah, that's definitely it" Brittany states sarcastically. "You wanna trade places then?"

"Brittany, that's not what I meant," Quinn reassures. "You're a hot piece of ass if you ask me." Quinn throws Brittany a wink and gives her a little tap on the butt. Brittany can't help but burst into laughter.

"Get away from me!" Brittany responds in between laughs.

"I'm serious B," her sister tells her. "You're one of the prettiest girls I've ever met, and I'm not just saying that because you're my sister."

"Prettier than you?" Brittany says wiggling her eyebrows at Quinn. The girls continue to giggle and shake their heads at the ridiculousness of their conversation.

"Cheer up hun, there's a lot of day left to make some good memories," Quinn tells her.

"Here's hoping," Brittany responds and the two sisters walk down the hall towards their lockers before next period begins.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quinn and Brittany round the corner to their lockers, chatting and laughing at one another's inside jokes. It's so sudden that Brittany barely has time to react. Quinn surely didn't see it coming or maybe she would have pushed her sister out of the line of fire. In a millimeter of a second a flash of red flies through the air and smacks Brittany right in the face. She might as well have been bitch-slapped by an iceberg. Her mouth hangs open and she shakes her head to rid the excess slushy from her hair, and removes her glasses to wipe her eyes clean. She shivers a little as the remainder of the drink drips down her back. Quinn stands with a shocked expression on her face. Anger quickly consumes her and she seeks out the person who tossed the slushy. Quinn turns to find a short brunette girl, dressed in combat boots, ripped black skinny jeans and a beat up looking band t-shirt, smirking at the sight. Quinn sees the cup the girl is holding in her hand; the culprit of her sister's humiliation. The brunette gives her a wink and shakes her head as she walks away from the scene she caused.

"Britt!" Quinn turns to her sister who has now sunk to the floor of the school hallway. Students start to dissipate from the scene. Brittany keeps her head down as she continues to pull red chucks of ice out of her hair.

"Britt, are you okay?" Quinn asks kneeling down in front of her sister. Brittany doesn't answer.

"Britt-" before Quinn can continue she's interrupted by the sound of two voices coming from behind her. She slowly turns to find a boy and girl standing with their arms crossed, whispering to one another while chancing glances at Quinn and Brittany.

"Can I help you two?" Quinn states, becoming a little defensive of her sister. The boy and girl snap their heads up and stare at Quinn.

"Well?" Quinn's voice is laced with agitation. The two strangers walk up to Quinn and extend their hands. Quinn lifts an eyebrow at their gesture.

"Noah Puckerman Berry, but everyone calls me Puck," Quinn cautiously extends her hand to shake the boy's.

"Rachel Barbara Berry," the girl waits with her hand extended. Quinn reaches for hers after Puck lets go.

"Quinn Pierce," the blonde introduces herself to the brother and sister.

"We know who you are," the duo states simultaneously, smiling at one another.

"Oh?" Quinn's eyes go wide. Rachel speaks up.

"We're sort of McKinley's welcoming committee," Rachel begins. "We've been the president and vice president of student council since we were freshman here. It's sort of our job to know everyone in school." Quinn nods her head slowly, eyeing up the two in front of her.

"So I'm assuming you know I have a sister then," Quinn states.

"That's, uh, sort of why we approached you," Puck says, shoving his hands into his pockets. _Very non-threatening_, Quinn takes notice.

"Go on," Quinn says.

"We feel terrible about what happened to Brittany," Puck says. There's honestly in his eyes. Quinn's defensive manner slowly fades away as the three continue to talk.

"McKinley has a 'zero tolerance for bullying' policy, but it isn't always the easiest thing to enforce," Rachel says. Quinn stays quiet, letting the two talk.

"We have a pretty personal connection with the main culprit," Rachel continues.

"Yeah, we do," Puck adds. Quinn notices the hint of disappointment in his face.

"Let me guess, brunette girl, little taller that you?" Quinn asks, directing her gaze to Rachel. Both Puck and Rachel take a deep breath and sigh.

"Santana," the brother and sister say together. Quinn just nods in understanding.

"She's our cousin," they say together.

The three are so wrapped up in conversation that they don't notice when Brittany finally stands up and leaves behind her crime scene. I say crime scene because, let's be honest, it looks like Brittany was torn to shreds and the remains of the accident are scattered in red puddles on the hallway floor. And Brittany must admit, she feels like she was torn to shreds.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Puck asks as he looks behind Quinn to see that her sister has vanished.

"I-I, I have no idea," Quinn begins to panic. "What if she's hurt?"

"Okay just calm down, I'm sure she's okay," Rachel says.

"You don't understand!" Quinn yells, and the other two look a little stunned. "Sorry, but, she's just been through a lot already." Rachel and Puck cock their heads to the right in surprise.

"It's a long story," Quinn begins. "For another day." The other two just nod their heads and smile.

"Hey look!" Puck points to the floor. Rachel and Quinn follow the direction of his finger. Before them is a trail of what looks like red water.

"I know where she went," Rachel says and then takes off down the hall, Puck and Quinn following behind.

"The girls bathroom," Puck states as the pieces click together. The three newfound friends continue to follow the drops of red water, and wind up in front of the girls bathroom, right where they suspected. Just as Rachel is about to push open the door, Quinn stops her.

"Let me," the blonde sister says. Puck and Rachel nod.

"We'll be right out here if you two need anything," Puck says. Quinn smiles and pushes open the bathroom door. She looks at the ground to find the tiniest drops of red scattered across the white tiled floor.

"Brittany?" Quinn sweetly calls out to her younger sister. She walks further into the bathroom when there's no answer.

"Britt?" Quinn calls out to here again, a little worry behind her voice. That's when hears her.

"Oh god," Quinn runs to the very last stall. It's locked.

"Shit" Quinn mutters under her breath.

"Brittany, please open the door," Quinn pleads, but her sister just continues to sob on the bathroom floor. Quinn is desperately trying to jimmy the lock from the outside when she hears the door to the bathroom entrance open. She whips her head over to see Puck and Rachel standing with what appears to be a red McKinley gym t-shirt and two towels. They're both as white as the towels they're holding.

"I-is she—okay?" Rachel hesitates as she asks. Puck looks just as nervous.

"I need you two to go, please!" Quinn is becoming more and more frantic while Brittany continues to cry behind the locked stall.

"But we can help!" Puck exclaims.

"We want to help," Rachel finishes, calmly. She sets the towels aside and hands Quinn the shirt.

"She's going to need something clean and dry to change into," Rachel says.

"Thank you, really, but I have to get this door unlocked," Quinn says worriedly.

"I can kick it open if you want me to," Puck begins, flexing his muscles a little.

"Puck!" Rachel smacks him on the arms.

"Ouch!" he looks at his sister. "What the heck was that for?"

"Now is not the time," Rachel gives him a pointed look.

"I'm sorry, you're right," he says.

"It's fine, just open the door!" Quinn grabs his wrist and pulls him towards the stall.

Quinn steps back giving Puck some space and he forcefully kicks the door right at the lock. Nothing happens. He tries again and manages to dent the metal lock enough and jiggles the door open. He steps into the bathroom stall and stops, frozen at what he sees in front of him. Quinn is rushing in behind him when he turns to stop her.

"I think we should get the nurse," Puck says.

"It's fine, I can handle her," Quinn says, trying to push past him.

"Rachel, go get the nurse!" Puck tells his sister and she's gone in a flash.

"Quinn, I need you to just stay calm okay?" Puck grabs her shoulders, looking her in the eyes.

"I-I- Just let me see her," Quinn starts. "She needs me, I'm always the one who helps her." Quinn is getting desperately impatient, trying to push Puck out the bathroom stall doorway to get to her sister.

Brittany sits against the wall next to the toilet, sobbing. The red dye from the slushy is still present in her blonde hair, which now hangs in an even messier bun over her left shoulder. She feels pathetic, worthless even. And she's definitely sorry she ever ran into that beautiful girl.

_Flashback: The Slushy Incident (35 minutes ago)_

_Brittany is laughing at something Quinn said as they round the corner. She almost can't believe it when something freezing slaps her in the face and drips down her white shirt. She stands humiliated as students gather around her and Quinn, laughing and pointing. Her sister stands to her side, completely untouched, as usual. It's always Brittany. She never understands why. What makes them so different that Quinn can is able to live her life happily and unafraid. Brittany is a nervous wreck half the time, unless she's at home or with Quinn. I guess Quinn can't even protect her now. She sinks to the floor and takes her glasses off, resting them on her leg. She puts her head in her hands and sighs. _

"_Britt!" she hears Quinn's voice snapping her back to reality. It doesn't matter though. Not even Quinn can help her now. She ignores the sound of her sister's voice as she pulls slushy from her hair and clothes, and uses the sleeve of her cardigan to wipe her glasses clean. Brittany thinks she hears Quinn's voice again, and she's right. She slowly turns her head up to her sister, who is now standing with two other students. A boy and a girl stand cross-armed. Nobody even bothered to ask Brittany if she's okay. She just sits on the floor, a tear sliding down her cheek. It's only her first day and things are already this bad. She knows that Quinn and her parents would never admit this to her, but Brittany knows they moved because of her. The bullying was so bad, and even though Brittany was a trooper about everything, her family knew a move was necessary. Brittany overheard her parents talking to Quinn one day in their Pittsburgh home, saying, "don't tell your sister," and "we're just worried about her." She didn't need to hear anything else. Brittany knew everything they did was for her. She shakes her head a little to snap out of the memory, but a sudden feeling of guilt washes over. She feels flushed and dizzy. She has to get out of here. She slowly stands and slinks down the hallway, looking back to see Quinn chatting with those two students. _

_End Flashback._

Rachel bursts through the girl's bathroom with the school nurse in tow. Quinn notices that she brought some ice packs and a bottle of peroxide with her. Puck places a hand on Quinn and shifts the both of them away from the stall that Brittany's in. The nurse rushes to the stall.

"Where's the girl?" the nurse asks, panic evident in her voice. Puck points her to the stall.

The nurse moves forward and Puck stops her, whispering something in her ear that Quinn doesn't quite catch. The nurse moves into the stall quickly. Puck has a hold on Quinn; he's preparing for what might happen once she sees her sister's condition.

_Flashback: The Slushy Incident (20 minutes ago)_

_Brittany turns back around, away from where Quinn was standing. She just continues her walk down the lonely hallway. All the other students are in their next class at this point. The bell rang 10 minutes ago from what she can remember. Brittany watches the red dye drip from the ends of her blonde hair. Another tear slides down her cheek when she hears a voice snapping her attention forward. _

"_How did I know I'd find you here," it's the mysterious girl. _

"_Wh-wh-what, I-I I don't know," Brittany stammers, averting her gaze. _

"_Nice clothes," the girl smirks at Brittany's red-stained shirt. Brittany is quiet as the slushy incident replays in her head. It happened so fast she thought she missed who did it. But she remembers now. _

"_Y-y-you?" Brittany's bottom lip starts to tremble. _

"_Nice work detective obvious," the girl bites back. Brittany stands there with her head down. _

"_Jeez Karofsky was wrong," she begins. "You are stupid." The girl in front of Brittany just rolls her eyes and walks towards Brittany. When Brittany realizes that her tormentor is moving closer, she slowly takes a step back. But the girl just keeps coming closer and closer. Brittany startles when her back hits something. She glances behind her she sees Dave from her calculus class. He's standing tall with his arms folded across his chest. _

"_Wh-what a-a-are you guys do-do-doing…" Brittany finds her voice. Both Dave and the girl roll their eyes. Brittany is taken by surprise when Dave grabs her arms and forces her against the hallway wall. Brittany winces in pain. The girl approaches Brittany while she's being pinned to the wall by Dave. _

"_If you ever so much as look at me again, I will end you," the girl practically spits in her face. Brittany just closes her eyes, hoping this is a dream. _

"_But just to make sure you don't forget, my boy is going to give you a little reminder for the road," the brunette continues. _

"_B-Bu-but-" Brittany begins but is quickly interrupted when all of the wind is knocked out of her. Her wrists are released and she doubles over clutching her stomach and ribs. Then it happens. It feels like the weight of a bowling ball crashes against the side of her face. Brittany instantly drops to the ground in a heap, not able to catch herself before her teeth go through her bottom lip. It's completely split as she feels the blood start to trickle down her chin. Everything is black. She can't move or lift her head. It all feels so heavy. Maybe this is where she dies—right in the middle of the school hallway. Somehow she manages to blink her eyes enough to pull them back into focus. It's a little fuzzy still, but she can see Dave walking away from her. The mysterious girl is following behind. Brittany closes her eyes and opens them again only to see the girl glancing over her shoulder at Brittany. It almost looks like the girl frowns at Brittany. Like an apology maybe? It couldn't be. It has to be Brittany's imagination…or the blow she took to her head. _

_End Flashback. _

The nurse quickly kneels down next to Brittany's slumped over body.

"Honey, can you look at me?" the nurse asks sweetly, reaching out to gently touch Brittany's arm.

The nurse didn't want to startle the already rattled girl. Brittany's crying has subsided slightly, but she's not in any kind of shape to answer the nurse. She's completely drained from the physical and emotional pain she's already had to endure on day one at her new school. The nurse tried to reach out and brush Brittany's hair away from the side of her face. Brittany immediately tensed.

"P-p-pl-please do-don't," Brittany whimpers.

"I'll be really gentle, I promise," the nurse reassures her. "I just need to get a look at you if you're hurt sweetie." Brittany didn't answer; instead she let out a long sigh, which causes her to wince. Tears start to fall down her face again.

"Shhh, it's okay," the nurse says. "You're going to be okay."

The nurse uses some toilet paper to wipe Brittany's tears and she carefully moves the blonde's hair away from her face. She immediately sees how swollen the left side of the girl's face is and tries to contain her shock. She doesn't want to scare Brittany any more than she already is. The poor girl's face is pretty mangled though. Her left cheekbone is twice the size of the right. It's already turned deep shades of blue and purple that seem to shimmer in the light. Aside from her cheekbone and black and blue eye, Brittany has a few gashes on the side of her face. Her bottom lip is the worst. The blood keeps flowing from the cut and is dripping onto Brittany's white shirt. Her other cut is just underneath the black and blue mark by her eye. The nurse shakes her head in disbelief.

"How does such a pretty girl get into such a mess," the nurse whispers, but Brittany hears everything she says. She slowly lifts her head and looks at the nurse with sad eyes. The nurse's heart almost breaks at the sight in front of her. The girl's bright blue eyes are red-rimmed and glossy from crying. The nurse cups Brittany's chin in her left hand.

"Hold still, this might sting a bit," the nurse says as she swabs the peroxide soaked cotton ball across Brittany's cuts.

"Mmmmm," Brittany painfully hums.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I have to clean these out," the nurse continues to fix up the blonde's face.

"S'okay," Brittany whispers, closing her eyes.

_Flashback: The Girl's Bathroom (10 minutes ago)_

_Brittany manages to lift herself up off of the hallway floor, but something doesn't feel right. It's her ribs. She's having a hard time keeping her vision clear; she reaches her hand up to her face and feels the bump. She knows it isn't good; she just needs to find a place to sit down and breathe. The girl's bathroom is just at the end of the hall, and Brittany finds herself shuffling forward. Thank god it's empty when she walks in because she really isn't in the mood or condition to deal with anyone. She walks to the larger stall and goes in. She locks the stall and just as she turns to make her way to the wall to sit down, she slips on some water that has collected around the toilet. Brittany tries to catch herself, but it's too late. The girl falls hard to the white tile floor and let's out a shriek of pain. Her ribs. She doesn't attempt to move or stand. She just lies on the floor sobbing from the pain and humiliation. Maybe this is what she deserves. It sure seems like the universe is working in overdrive to make her life as miserable as possible. Brittany just doesn't seem the point in trying anymore. She's always kept a positive attitude, thanks to Quinn mostly. Quinn. Brittany wonders if Quinn will come looking for her if she's forgotten about her already, like the rest of the world. Brittany uses the toilet seat to pull herself into a sitting position against the wall. She looks around, and it's then that she realizes her bag isn't with her. And neither is her phone. She starts to cry harder, thinking it can't get any worse. _

_End Flashback. _

The nurse manages to clean all of Brittany's cuts, but the one on her lip is so deep that she suggests Brittany get stitches at the hospital. Brittany nods in understanding.

"Here, hold this against your cheek for me," the nurse hands Brittany a soft icepack.

"Thank you," Brittany mumbles. She's pretty embarrassed. This nurse must think she's a total loser. That's what she thinks of herself anyways.

"Britt!" Quinn gasps standing in the doorway of the stall. "Oh my god, babe."

"I tried to hold her back," Puck states.

"Oh my god your beautiful face," Quinn crouches down and gently holds her sister's face in her hands. Brittany winces, making Quinn feel even worse than she already does.

"What-I-How did this happen!" Quinn begins. "Was this her?" she then turns the question to Puck and Rachel. Brittany's eyes spark at her sister's last question.

"Quinn, what-" Brittany begins before she is interrupted by two other people.

Puck and Rachel walk into the stall. The nurse excuses herself while the group talks.

"Oh my-Brittany," Rachel says in shock.

"H-how do you know my name?" Brittany asks. "Quinn, what's going on?" Brittany is really confused now.

"I'm Puck, and this is my sister Rachel," the boy begins. "We sort of saw the slushy incident." Brittany just stares at the three of them.

"Babe, who did this to your face?" Quinn asks Brittany with a worried expression. She's on the verge of tears herself at the sight of Brittany's face.

"Don't know," Brittany begins. "A girl and a boy. Dave?"

"Karofsky," Puck grits through his teeth. Anger quickly fills his body and travels straight to his head.

"Puck don't," Rachel reaches over and grabs her brother's arm calming him down.

"And the girl?" Quinn asks Brittany.

"She had black on," Brittany begins. "Kinda tan."

"Santana," Puck and Rachel say together, disappointment washing over the two siblings.

"Y-you know her?" Brittany asks.

"She's our cousin," Rachel answers sadly. Brittany looks at her sister and Quinn nods.

"I-I don't understand," Brittany says. "Why?" Nobody knows what to say. But Puck breaks the silence and decides to attempt an answer in one word.

"Fear," Puck's answer was simple.

"But-that doesn't-what?" Brittany is beyond confused. Her head is starting to pound and the sharp ache in her ribs is becoming ever more present.

"Let's get you to the hospital," Quinn says reaching out to wipe the blood from your chin that is dripping from your lip.

"I'm going to Princi-" Puck is cut off by Brittany.

"No!" she says. "Please, just, don't."

"You can't let them get away with this!" Rachel raises her voice in concern. Brittany just sighs.

"Look, she's your cousin and I don't want any trouble," Brittany begins. "I ran right into her this morning; guess I deserved it." Puck and Rachel don't even know how to respond to the blonde's statement.

"Britt-" Quinn starts.

"Quinn just stop, it's fine," Brittany says. "But could you help me up?" Brittany gives her sister a small smile. It's so small you almost can't see it, but it's there. Somehow.

"Sure babe, come on," Quinn stands and holds her hands out for Brittany to grab, but she never does.

"Come on Britt, grab my hands," Quinn smiles. Brittany frowns at her sister's action.

"I-I-my ribs…" Brittany says with disappointment. Quinn's smile fades quickly as she calls for Puck to help her. Puck crouches next to Brittany and tells her to put her arm over his shoulder. She does as he says and with ease he lifts the blonde off the floor to a standing position. The pain is written all over Brittany's face. She's trying to hide it, but Quinn knows her too well.

"Can you walk to the car?" Quinn asks Brittany. Puck releases his hold on Brittany and she takes a step. They can tell she's in a lot of pain, but they let her go.

"I'm good," Brittany responds. "Let's just go, please."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Puck and Rachel see Quinn and Brittany off, and then quickly make a beeline for the bleachers.

"Puck just slow down!" his sister calls from behind him.

"I'm going to kick both of their asses!" He yells, charging forward.

"Mom will kill you if you get suspended for fighting at school," Rachel tell him.

"Rach, I don't care!" he states. "They can't keep hurting people!" Pucks keeps his quick pace, reaching the bleachers in record time. Rachel is huffing and puffing behind him, but she's finally caught up.

"I wondered when I'd see you two," Santana says, sitting up from the couch that lies underneath the bleachers. She looks at the time on her cell phone. "Not bad, I expected you sooner though."

"What the fuck were you thinking!" Puck hisses at his cousin. Santana just laughs.

"Oh calm down Pucky," she answers. "It wasn't that bad." She sits back down on the couch.

"Santana," Rachel starts to talk. "You really hurt that girl." Santana just rolls her eyes.

"Oh please, blondie is fine," Santana says, waving them off. "I just threw the slushy, nothing more, nothing less."

"How the hell are you going to explain the black eye and stitches and most likely the broken ribs!" Puck yells at his cousin. Santana looks slightly taken aback by Puck's words. She lifts a challenging eyebrow at him.

"Like I said, I threw the slushy," she responds. "Blame the ogre for the other stuff." Puck and Rachel have seen Santana get into some trouble before, but they also remember the girl she was just a year ago before she transferred. The real Santana isn't capable of hurting a fly. So why would she do this Brittany? Why would she let someone hurt the poor girl?

"I really can't believe you," Puck huffs and walks away before he does something he might regret. Santana remains seated on the couch and watches her cousin walk away. Rachel looks at her and shakes her head with a frown.

"I honestly didn't think you had it in you, but I was wrong," Rachel says and turns to follow Puck out.

"What?" Santana asks, prompting Rachel to elaborate. She stops and spins to face her cousin.

"I just never thought you'd become the very thing that hurt you the most," and with that Rachel walks away. Santana watches her cousins disappear around the corner and re-enter the high school. She absorbs the shock of Rachel's words and sighs.

"Neither did I Rachel," Santana whispers into the afternoon air.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**-The Next Day at School-**

Quinn drives herself and Brittany to school and pulls into an available parking spot. They spent the majority of yesterday and last night at the hospital getting Brittany checked out. Turns out that jerk did some serious damage to Brittany's ribs and face. The same ribs Brittany had injured before are once again cracked, she had to get four stitches in her bottom lip to hold it together, her cheekbone is bruised, and her eye is almost swollen shut from. Not to mention the pretty color that surrounds it. Quinn puts the car in park and turns to her sister, placing her hand on her knee.

"You don't have to do this Britt," Quinn says. She really wanted Brittany to stay home today, to avoid any trouble and possibly more humiliation from Santana.

"It's fine, I have to go back eventually anyways," Brittany responds. "Besides, if I stay home I'm letting them win."

"But by going you're also risking your safety…" Quinn begins to say, but Brittany stops her.

"I love that you're trying to protect me, but you can't do that forever," Brittany says. "I have to face this on my own," the younger blonde adds. Quinn just nods in understanding and the two of them exit Brittany's car.

The two sisters make their way to their lockers. Quinn walks extra close to Brittany, doing what she can for the girl while she's still in her presence. After the bell rings she doesn't know what the other students might do to Brittany. Brittany can really only see out of her right eye, which is fine with her because then she can only see half of the students who make fun of her as she walks down the hall with a bruised up face. _Just breathe Brittany_. When they reach the lockers Quinn helps Brittany open her locker. It's one of the top shelf lockers, and because Brittany's ribs are fractured it's extremely painful for her to move her upper body. Lifting her arms to reach for her books will be interesting when Quinn isn't around.

"Here let me help," Quinn scoots Brittany down and reaches into her sister's locker grabbing all of her things. She proceeds to bend down to her locker, the one right below Brittany's, and swap their books. Now all of Brittany's things are in Quinn's lower locker and vice versa.

"You didn't have to do that," Brittany smiles at her sister's generosity. It's moments like these that Brittany is so thankful Quinn is her sister.

"Don't mention it babe," Quinn wink at Brittany.

The girls carry on at their lockers, making small talk before the bell rings for first period. They're completely blind to the girl standing just a few lockers down the hall, watching the two sisters interact with one another. Santana can't believe the sight of the blonde girl. She's quickly pulled from her concentration when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She spins to see Dave standing behind her with a beastly smile on his face.

"Jesus Christ Dave!" she punches him in the shoulder.

"Ouch!" he flinches at her attack. "What the hell was that for Lopez?"

"I told you to scare her, just a one and done kind of thing, not fucking assault her!" the girl responds harshly. She keeps her voice down so that nobody else hears the conversation between the two. She might as well be whisper-yelling. That's what it sounds like anyways.

"Well she pissed me off okay!" Dave got in Santana's face, but she just rolled her eyes and walked away from the boy.

"You pull a stunt like that again and I'll make sure your face looks like that next," Santana says as she continues her walk down the hall. Dave gulps. Santana may be small, but she can really pack a punch when she means to.

Santana glides through the halls, students practically jumping out of her way. This is exactly what she wanted, for people to fear her so she didn't have to fear them. But if this is what she really wants, why does she feel so empty unhappy? Nonetheless, she holds her head high and continues to make her way through the halls and past the blonde girl, Brittany was her name? Santana chances a glance at the girl she planned an attack on yesterday. She can't quite see Brittany's face because the blonde's hair is down is loose waves today. Santana continues to scan the girl's body. Grey t-shirt with tight, destroyed skinny jeans, and white converse. Santana thought she wore glasses too. She remembered seeing them right before she tossed the slushy in her face. Maybe she was wrong.

Quinn said goodbye to Brittany and headed off to find Puck and Rachel to thank them for the help yesterday.

"Tell them I said thanks too," Brittany calls after her sister and Quinn flashes her a pearly white smile.

Brittany turns to her left and just barely catches the gaze of someone staring at her. She turns her head awat, not wanting to get into a staring contest with a stranger while looking like this. She closes her eyes and starts counting to ten. Hopefully by the time she reaches the number the person will be gone. When Brittany slowly turns around she sees the person standing closer to her and jumps in surprise.

"Jesus," Brittany breathes out.

"Sorry 'bout your face blondie," the voice sounds awfully familiar to Brittany. She turns around completely to fully see the girl, Santana, standing a couple feet away. Brittany doesn't know what to say, and she's honestly a little terrified so she just turns back around. _Maybe she'll just leave if I stand here long enough_.

"Look I'm trying to apologize, so can you not be a bitch right now?" Santana's voice is laced with annoyance. Brittany slowly turns, again, but this time to face her tormentor. Santana's even closer than she was just a second ago.

"Shit," Brittany jumps a little. Santana just rolls her eyes, but gets a good look at the blonde's face.

"Damn Karofsky sure did a number on you," Santana says.

"Uhhh-I-I- guess so," Brittany responds timidly.

"Blue's not such a bad color on you," Santana tells the blonde.

"I-I'm not wearing blue…" Brittany responds, a little confused.

Santana just shakes her head and walks away. Brittany, frozen in place, can't begin to fathom what has just happened. She's still staring at Santana when the brunette spins around to look at Brittany. She's now a lot further away, at least 15 feet down the hall near the front entrance of the school. Their eyes lock for a moment, even with the hallways swarming with students. Brittany can't deny how beautiful the brunette is, even with how awful she treated her yesterday. She shakes out of her daydream and finds Santana still staring at her. _Did she get closer_? Brittany ignores her internal question and fights the urge to break their locked gaze. That's when it happens. Before Brittany has time to flinch, another red slushy is tossed in her face. She steps backwards as a natural reaction, but doesn't see that Dave is standing behind her. He sticks his foot out and before Brittany can stop herself from falling, she hits the ground hard. A shriek of pain followed by the sounds of Brittany sobbing ring through the school hallways. Students stand around the girl laughing and pointing their cell phones at the sight.

Down the hall, Santana stands at the entrance of the school. Her eyes are locked on the circle of students that surround the blonde girl. She releases a long sigh and hangs her head. _What did I do… _

There's a bunch of thoughts swirling around Santana's head. She feels guilty, bad almost. She debates helping her, picking the girl up off the floor. Giving her a towel or a new t-shirt to wear. Rinsing the red dye out of her blonde hair. She's so close to breaking out of her new, hardened identity. But close only counts in horseshoes.

Santana pushes through the doors of the school entrance, looking back at Brittany lying on the ground once more. This time she notices that the blonde is alone, now sitting up against the lockers. Santana can tell that the girl is crying from the way the blonde wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. Brittany can feel someone's eyes on her. She lifts her head and turns to the left. She sees Santana in the doorway. And then she sees her leave.


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter update, how exciting! Like always, this may be an intense story for some readers. Rated M. **Trigger Warnings** I do not own the rights to any of these characters. **

**Also, I'm writing these chapters day by day. Nothing is mapped out. If you want to see something in the story, shoot me a message or tell me in a review! I'd be happy to work whatever magic I can to squeeze suggestions into the story! Thanks and enjoy!**

**Chapter Three**

Santana heads straight for her spot under the bleachers after that weird stare down with blondie. She tries to shake the feelings she has swirling inside of her head; she can't go back to who she used to be, even if that was only a short year ago. She turns the corner and is just a few more steps from the couch when a figure sits up.

"Hey, who the hell do you think you are?" Santana asks, annoyance washing over her at the sight of someone in her spot.

"I should be asking you the same question" the girl seethes. Santana huffs and walks closer to the girl who is sat on the couch.

"Move," the brunette says harshly. The girl on the couch lifts her sunglasses from her eyes and places them on her head. She raises an eyebrow at the smaller girl's tone.

"Or what, you gunna beat me up _too_?" the girl hisses.

"Ah, I see what's going on here," Santana begins. "Blondie's too much of a coward to do her own dirty work."

"Her name's Brittany," the other girl grits through her teeth. "And she's actually the bravest person I've ever met." Santana chuckles at the girl actually defending the blonde.

"Oh well gee," Santana says sarcastically, "if I would've known that yesterday then maybe she wouldn't have ended up looking like a beaten rag doll." At this point the other girl is standing up from the couch. She's a lot taller than Santana is, but they're nose and nose. Glaring at one another.

"I swear to god," the taller girl starts before the brunette cuts her off.

"What, please tell me," the brunette spits and rolls her eyes. The taller girl grabs her things from the couch and glares at the brunette. She pushes past Santana, bumping her shoulder.

"Just leave her alone," Santana turns to face the voice that is talking to her.

"Yeah, give me a good reason and maybe I'll think about it," Santana says, dismissing the girl standing a few feet away from her. She turns her back to sit on the couch and starts to dig through her bag in search of her cigarettes. She actually hates smoking, but it's the only thing that calms her nerves these days. Actually, it's the only thing that's been able to calm her nerves since that day in December last year.

_Flashback: December 15__th__ (Santana's freshman year of high school)_

"_Get out!" her dad screams._

"_Papi, please, it's not-" before Santana can get the rest of her words out, she's met with a SMACK! The brunette falls to the kitchen floor of her home. _

"_Get out," Mr. Lopez says sternly._

"_Sweetheart," the mother tries to plead with her husband. He turns and glares at his wife. She knows that look, so she chooses to keep quiet. She lets go of the hold she has on her husband's raised hand. Moving cautiously, she crouches down next to her daughter who is now sobbing in a heap. _

"_Come on mija," the mother whispers to her girl. Santana doesn't say a word as she continues to cry, letting her mother help her up off of the floor. Mr. Lopez re-enters the kitchen._

"_Go up to your room and pack your things," he says to his daughter._

"_B-b-but I-please don't do this papi," Santana pleads with her father. She looks at her mother for help, but she knows deep down that it's a lost cause. She puts her head down, letting the tears trickle down her cheeks. _

"_Come on baby, let's go upstairs," her mother says to her, coaxing her out of the kitchen and away from the angry man. _

"_B-but where am I gunna go?" Santana looks up for an answer from either parent. Mr. Lopez beats his wife to the punch. _

"_You should have thought about that before you pulled this little stunt!" he shouts angrily, fire coming out of his nose. Santana's not sure where her sudden burst of aggression came from, but she opens her mouth before she can stop herself._

"_I can't help it!" Santana raises her voice slightly, instantly knowing that it was a mistake. Her father's eye bug out as he charges toward her. Grabbing the kitchen knife he points it right between Santana's eyes._

"_Who the fuck do you think you are!" he shouts in a state of rage. Santana winces as she feels the tip of the knife puncture her skin ever so slightly. If she moves he will surely push the blade into her skull so she chooses to stay as still as possible. If she could play dead she would. _

"_Talking to me like I'm the child!" he shouts again._

"_Enough!" Mrs. Lopez shouts. Santana remains stiff as a board, but her father whips his head around dragging the knife across his daughter's left eyebrow. Santana flinches from the pain that erupts from the blade's path. Her left hand shoots up to the cut, but the blood is already dripping down her eye and falling in droplets to the kitchen floor. Mr. Lopez takes the knife and stabs it into the cutting board on the table, like he was spearing a wild animal. He leaves the kitchen, and the mother rushes to her daughter's side. _

"_Mija, oh my baby," Mrs. Lopez whispers, trying to keep her own tears from falling. Santana just sobs into her mother's shoulder and whimpers from the pain. _

"_Shhhh, I've got you," her mother begins, "I've got you now, it's okay."_

"_I-I-I'm s-s-so-sorr-sorry," Santana sniffles._

_End Flashback._

Santana snaps out of her memory at the sound of someone's voice. She stares at the girl who is off in the distance now.

"Because she's my sister," the girls answers. Santana just blinks at the girl's confession. She really wasn't expecting that. Sure, she saw the two girls standing together yesterday, but she definitely didn't peg them as sisters. The blonde starts to walk away.

"But-wait!" Santana calls after the girl.

"It's Quinn," she answers with confidence, knowing what the brunette was looking for. Santana gulps ever so slightly.

"I-I'm-," Santana begins, but is cut off.

"-Santana," Quinn begins, "I know who you are." With that Quinn walks out of Santana's sight.

"Damnit," Santana mutters under her breath.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany doesn't know that Quinn saw what happened in the hallway—the second slushy incident. Maybe it's for the best because Brittany would surely try to talk her sister out of defending her. But Quinn couldn't let this one go. She remembered from talking to Puck and Rachel that Santana's spot is under the bleachers. When she saw Santana heading out the front, she decided to take a gamble at where she was heading. Luckily, Quinn beat her there.

Brittany sits against the lockers, her long legs outstretched and her head down. She looks at her red-spotted t-shirt, fiddling with the bottom edge.

"Brittany?" the blonde girl turns her head up to see Rachel walking towards her.

"O-oh, hi Rachel," Brittany answers timidly.

"What happened, why are you sitting out here?" Rachel asks. "First period is almost over." Brittany looks down, embarrassed by her situation. It's the second time she's actually met Rachel and once again, she's covered in red slushy and alone.

"Uhmm…" Brittany pauses, not quite sure what to say. Rachel studies the blonde. She notices her uneasiness and the fear that seems to live behind her eyes. Her eyes—Rachel seems to get stuck on them. They're piercing blue, but sad and innocent. _Childlike_, Rachel thinks. Brittany shifts uncomfortably and clears her throat softly. Rachel snaps her attention back to focus. She decides to sit down next to Brittany. Brittany glances at her from the corner of her eye. Her good eye, that is.

"You know," Rachel begins, "it's funny the irony of some situations."

"O-oh?" Brittany answers, looking at Rachel with interest.

"I remember Santana before all of this," the small brunette says. Brittany nods for Rachel to continue. Brittany takes this time to get a good look at Rachel. She's wearing a cream and navy blue print dress with orange colored flats and an orange headband to match. Rachel reminds Brittany a lot of her sister. _Maybe we'll become friends_.

"She's really not as tough as she seems," Rachel tells Brittany.

"Oh?" Brittany is curious now. Santana seemed tough as nails, unapologetic, and just downright mean from what Brittany has experienced.

"You remind me a lot of her," Rachel says as she studied Brittany once more.

"I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing," Brittany says, laughing a little. Rachel smiles, glad to see that the blonde is starting to loosen up a little.

"You should smile more," Rachel begins, "that was always Santana's problem too."

Brittany isn't sure what to say to that so she just offers Rachel a smile. Rachel returns the smile.

"Anyways," Rachel pats Brittany on the arm and begins to stand, "remember what I said."

"But, wait!" Brittany asks as Rachel starts to walk off down the hall. Rachel turns to give Brittany a look of concern.

"W-what was she like, you know, "Brittany begins to ask, "before this?" Rachel's concerned expression fades and turns into a wide smile.

"Beautiful," a one word answer from Rachel.

"She's still beautiful," Brittany doesn't miss a beat, and quickly slaps a hand over her own mouth. Rachel smirks.

"Her spirit," Rachel says with a smile, "it was beautiful."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Santana leans back on the couch and takes a long drag from her cigarette. She let's the thick smoke fill her mouth; it rushes down her throat like water on a slide in the summertime. But as the smoke begins to paint black on her lungs, it is catapulted upward by a heavy exhale or a deep sigh. She closes her eyes.

_Flashback: Meeting Ryan_

_Santana walks into the gym locker room to drop her things off before going to talk to her Cheerios coach. She pushes past the white door and THUD! Santana finds herself lying on the ground, phone fallen from her hand and scattered across the floor. This is why people shouldn't try to multitask, because they will often find themselves lying on their flat on their backs like fools. _

"_I am so sorry!" Santana hears another girl's voice. She looks up to see bright blue eyes and an extended hand. She hesitantly grasps the other girl's hand and is tugged upward. _

"_T-t-thanks," Santana answers. The girl smiles, and Santana returns the gesture shyly. She doesn't quite know what's come over her. She's never this shy! She's a cheerleader for god's sake. But Santana can't help but notice how beautiful the girl in front of her is; she rakes her eyes down the girl's body slowly and discreetly. Her honeycomb colored hair falls in a loose ponytail over her right shoulder; she's a little taller than Santana is, maybe 5'6" on a good day; her blue eyes are like two swimming pools reflecting the hot Miami sun; and of course, her legs._

"_Ahem," Santana snaps her gaze up to meet those blue eyes. Her cheeks flush a bright red, which is nearly impossible given her ethnicity! She brings her right hand up and runs it up and down her arm trying to hide her embarrassment. _

"_I-uh-I've got-gotta gay," Santana begins, "GO, go, I've gotta go," she corrects herself with lightning speed. She's mortified. She quickly picks up her things and brushes past the blue-eyed girl. Santana's heart is beating at hyper speed. _

"_It was nice running into you Santana!" the girl calls out. Santana stops in her tracks and turns around to see the girl give her a wink just before the locker room door closes. Santana's heart starts beating even faster at this point; her stomach feels like it's in her throat. _

"_I think I'm gunna be sick," she says to herself and runs into a stall._

_End Flashback. _

Santana flicks her cigarette under the bleachers. Dropping her head into her hands, elbows resting on her knees, she lets out a long sigh.

"Where did I go wrong," she says defeated. It almost surprises her when she reaches up to feel a tear slide down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away with the back of her hand. She grabs her things hurriedly and starts walking back to the school.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seeing as Brittany never made it to her later classes yesterday, she's a little nervous about her next one. It's like the first day all over again, except today everyone knows that she's the girl that got beat up and slushied. She doesn't even get the chance to make a better name for herself; she's already _that_ girl.

"Pull yourself together Britt," the blonde girl says out loud to herself. Just as she goes to close her locker shut, a voice sneaks up behind her.

"You know, if you keep talking to yourself people might think your crazy," Brittany spins to see Puck standing behind her. She gives him a shy smile and returns the gesture.

"Hi," Brittany says to the boy.

"Hello yourself," Puck begins to say.

"I, uh, did you-" Puck senses the girl's struggle to get her words out so he steps in for her.

"I know you aren't crazy," he starts to say, "but I just came to check up on you." He shoves his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and rocks on his heels.

"O-oh, well, uh, t-thanks," Brittany shakes out. "I'm okay."

"I talked to Rachel," Puck tells her.

"You did?" Brittany asks curiously.

"Well, she is my sister," Puck laughs at a little at Brittany's surprised expression.

"Right, sorry," Brittany ducks her head and chuckles quietly.

"I just want you to know that you can trust us," Puck moves closer to Brittany and looks at her with sincerity. Brittany doesn't think she's met anyone sweeter than Puck and Rachel. They're both so genuine. Like Quinn.

"I-I know," Brittany begins to say, "at least I think I know." She picks her head up to smile at the boy, letting him know she's being honest.

"You're our friend Brittany," Puck says, "and we protect our friends." Brittany stands with shock written on her face. _Friends? _She shakes her head like they're clogged with water and she can't hear.

"Are, uh, you okay?" Puck asks through a laugh.

"Oh, uh, yeah!" Brittany laughs, she must look ridiculous wiggling her head around. Puck nods his head as if to ask Brittany to continue.

"I just, did you just, uhm-," she's trying to get the words out. Puck tilts his head to the right with a smirk. He looks like an adorable puppy. He's trying to get Brittany to say what he already knows she's trying to.

"Go on," Puck wiggles his eyebrows at her. She laughs, feeling more and more relaxed. Brittany decides to keep it simple.

"Friends?" she asks shyly. Puck moves towards the blonde so he's standing right beside her.

"Friends," he repeats with a smile, throwing his arm around Brittany's right shoulder. He glances over at the girl and concern washes over his face.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry," he begins to say, "you probably weren't expecting the arm over shoulder move." Pucks instantly feels bad for invading the shy girls space. He takes a step back from Brittany. She wipes her fallen tear with the back of her hand.

"I've never had a real friend before, let alone _friends_," she tells him quietly.

"What?" Puck begins to say in disbelief, "come here." He stands in front of Brittany with his arms open. She looks at his outstretched arms and can't really believe this is happening. I guess she takes a little too long to move, because Puck reaches for her wrists and pulls her into the tightest hug she thinks she's ever received. She, a little awkwardly, wraps her arms around his upper body. She instantly sighs in some sort of relief. Brittany imagines that this is what a hug from her brother would feel like, if she had a brother that is. She smiles into his shoulder at the thought.

"This is your honorary friend hug," Puck tells her. She smiles wider if that's even possible.

"Welcome to the club," he says to her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Santana looks into the window of her classroom. She almost goes in, but as she reaches out to turn the door handle she quickly pulls it back. It's not that she doesn't like school; she's actually really intelligent. For the longest time her dream has been to become a pediatric surgeon. There's something about saving people's lives that speaks to Santana. She also loves kids; nobody knows it, but she's a big softy when it comes to them. She's always dreamed of becoming the chief surgeon for pediatrics, but now, she's not sure. How can she focus her attention to others and be responsible for saving people's kids when she's not sure she can be saved herself?

She huffs and slowly back pedals away from her classroom. She doesn't feel the greatest right now so Santana shuffles off to the nurse's office. Her footsteps reverberate through the hallway, reminding her of just how alone she really is. But she can only be so mad because the truth of the matter is that she chose this life for herself. To be alone; to isolate herself from good people—people who care about her, people who love, or loved her at one point.

She walks through the nurse's open door and stands in front of the desk, shyly almost.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, can I help you," the nurse asks as she comes out from the room where the beds are.

"I, uh, I, can I just lay down?" Santana asks through a stutter.

"Of course," the nurse begins, "are you feeling okay?"

"Not really," Santana says quietly while dropping her head. The nurse gives her a small smile and motions for her to follow her into the room.

"I've only got one bed available right now," the nurse says and motions to the bed for Santana to lie down on. Santana moves to her bed, but notices another figure in the dim room. She can't make out whom it is. The nurse notices Santana's curiosity.

"Poor thing has had a rough go," the nurse says in a whisper as her eyes land on the figure in the other bed. Santana nods in understanding, and squints her eyes trying to see who it is. The body on the bed next to her moves just slightly and Santana freezes.

"Are you okay dear?" the nurse asks when Santana seem to tense.

"O-oh ye-yeah, I'm fine thanks," Santana forces out a smile.

"There's a pillow and blanket right here for you," the nurse sets the items down on the stand next to Santana's bed.

"Thanks," the brunette says. Santana grabs the items and makes herself comfortable. She lies down and wraps herself up in the blanket, snuggling into the pillow as hard as she can. She can't even begin to describe how she feels. Ever since that blonde girl Quinn confronted her she's been in a mood. She brought about all of the brunette's insecurities buried deep inside. Santana feels guilty about what happened to Quinn's sister, because deep down she's not a bad person. But she also feels guilty because there's a tiny part of her that doesn't care about what happened to Brittany. And that makes her feel even worse. She just wants to be left alone. So she closes her eyes and tries to focus on her breathing, anything but Blondie and her past.

"_Where do you think you're doing bitch?" a voice growls form behind her. _

"_Oh, I, uh," Santana begins to say, but is cut off when a hands grips her elbow and spins her around. _

"_Did I say you could talk?" the voice is getting angrier. Santana, being the smart girl that she is, decides it's best if she just nods her head "no."_

"_What do you think you're doing with Ryan?" the boy asks. Santana finds her voice again._

"_We're friends, now let go of me," she answers. _

"_Friends, huh," the boy laughs maniacally. Even though Santana is a cheerleader, she's only a freshman so she's still working her way up the social ladder. She doesn't have much pull in the school yet. _

"_Do you always kiss your friends like that?" the boy gives her a shove and Santana stumbles backwards into the lockers. _

"_W-w-wh-what?" Santana is so shocked she can't get the words out right. _

"_You heard me you fucking dyke," the boy spits in her face. She winces, waiting for her worst nightmare to come true. _

"_I, n-no, it-it's not-," Santana tries to say. The boy grips her shoulders tightly, lighting her off the ground and pinning her to the lockers. He's inches from her face. _

"_Stay away from my girl you freak," he says sternly._

"_B-but-," Santana begins to say, but realizes quickly that she needs to learn to keep mouth shut. The boy eyes her viciously and drops her without warning. The brunette tumbles to the hard school floors. She closes her eyes, hoping that he just goes away. _

"_Come on, get up girl!" he raises his voice. Santana is actually scared now. She hesitates to stand. _

"_Get UP!" the boy yells and grabs her arm ripping her up off of the floor. Santana cries out in pain. She's almost positive the boy dislocated her shoulder. Santana is trembling under his grip. _

"_P-p-please, you're hurting me," she squeaks out. _

"_It won't be the last time," the boy states. _

"_B-b-but," Santana begins and the boy snaps. Santana can't react quickly enough and suddenly there's a fist flying towards her face. _

"_No!" she screams. Nothing happens, but she's still screaming. _

"Stop!" Santana yells thrashing in her sleep and jolts upright as she dreams the fist hitting her square in the face. Her eyes open and she's breathing heavier than she used to at cheer practice. Her chest is pumping up and down rapidly. She feels so disoriented that she doesn't feel the warm hand on her back until the nurse pulls her from her dream.

"Santana, dear?" the nurse begins to say. Santana looks up at the nurse who is wearing a concerned expression.

"Are you okay sweetie?" the woman asks.

"I-I'm sorry," Santana says quietly and just drops her head. "I'm fine." That's when she feels it. Small, smoothing circles being rubbed on her back. She doesn't look just yet, afraid of whom it might be.

"I'll leave you girls be," the nurse says with a smile as she notices the comforting touches the other is placing in Santana's back. Santana's eyes go wide at the nurse's statement. Now the brunette girl really doesn't have a choice, but to look.

"A-are y-you okay?" the voice is shaky, soft, delicate. Santana's eyes get even wider at the sound of the girl's voice. She can feel her cheeks start to heat up. The girl's touch is so comforting that she doesn't want her to stop, but she's not that girl anymore. Not after what she's been through.

"Fine," Santana answers harshly, wincing at her own tone. She doesn't even know the poor girl that the voice belongs to, yet she's treating her like dirt. She hasn't built up the courage to turn around and face the girl. She thinks she recognizes the voice, another reason she's afraid to turn around, but she remains rooted in her position. She feels the body behind her scoot closer and brings another hand to her back, placing it on her left shoulder. Santana tenses. The girl's hand suddenly stops rubbing small circles on the brunette's back. Santana feels the girl shift away, but not before giving her shoulder a squeeze. Suddenly, she misses the feeling. Maybe it's just the feeling of someone being there for her that she misses, or maybe it's the bond with another person, a girl that she misses. With this thought, all the memories of Ryan come flooding back to Santana. Santana can't but whimper, tears threatening to spill over. She doesn't feel the other girl's presence so she turns around to find the girl lying on her side, facing away from Santana. The blanket is pulled up around the girl's shoulders. Santana notes that she must be tall because her feet are sticking out from the bottom of the blanket. It makes the brunette smile slightly. Santana almost calls over to the girl, but she looks so peaceful and the last thing the brunette wants to do is disrupt someone's life. She's done that enough in her past. So instead, she wipes the few fallen tears with the back of her hand and quietly tiptoes to the door. The sound of shuffling behind her makes her stop and glance back over her shoulder out of curiosity.

"Hmm," a content hum comes from the girl lying on the bed. The lights are still dimmed, and with a blanket thrown over the girl, it's still hard for Santana to make out who she is. She notices that girl has kicked her shoes off, which lie haphazardly on the floor below the bed. Her feet are no longer sticking out of the blanket, but she is curled into such a tight ball Santana can't help but chuckle lowly. She walks back over to her bed and grabs her blanket. She quietly walks to the girl's bed and lays the blanket over the lower half of her body, making sure that her feet will have some blanket if she chooses to stretch out. It seems too ironic, but the girl in fact begins to stretch her body out. Santana's eyes go wide and she quickly backs away before the girl turns and sees her standing over her like a creep.

"Thanks Mary," Santana hears the soft, sleepy voice say. She must think the nurse laid the blanket over her. Santana puts a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. She turns to walk out of the door, but decides to take a risk.

"Don't mention it," Santana's voice fills the small room and she walks away in a flash. The girl's tired blue eyes pop open at Santana's statement. She quickly sits up in bed, trying to be mindful of her sore ribs.

"Santana?" Brittany calls out, looking around the room, but it's too late. The brunette is gone. Brittany felt so bad for her when she woke up from what seemed to be a nightmare. She knows how it feels, that's for sure. She's not sure why she felt the need to comfort Santana. Hell, the brunette girl could've lashed out on Brittany and hurt her even more than she already has. But she just covered Brittany with a blanket. That's a pretty non-mean thing to do. Maybe Rachel is right about Santana. Maybe she's not really a bad person as all. And Brittany is going to find out if she's right.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany stays in the nurse's office for the rest of the day. The nurse makes sure that the girl is excused properly from all of her classes. When the bell rings, Brittany grabs her things and hurries out of the school towards the parking lot where Quinn parked her car this morning. On her way out the door she sees Puck and Rachel walking down the hall.

"Rachel!" Brittany yells to get her attention. The brother and sister seem to be talking intensely about something.

"Puck!" Brittany tries again to get their attention. Before she decides to shout again she picks up the pace and bumps a few people's shoulders as she finally catches up to her two friends. She smiles at the thought.

"Hey guys," Brittany says as she walks in sync with the two. They smile widely at her.

"Britt!" Puck begins, "how goes it girl?" he finishes his thought. He really is such a nice guy. Brittany knows they'll be great friends.

"Hi Brittany," Rachel smiles, but then a scowl crosses her face.

"Everything okay, you guys seemed intense just a second ago," Brittany asks. Puck and Rachel look at the blonde as they make it out to the parking lot. Luckily, their cars are parked side by side, so they continue talking as they walk towards the cars.

"Eh, well," Rachel starts to say after looking at her brother.

"It's Santana," Puck says without hesitation. They look worried, more than normal.

"Oh?" Brittany asks, even more curious now.

"You see, we're sort of worried," Rachel says.

"Yeah, but not for the same reasons we're usually worried," Puck says with a little laugh, but still looking concerned. The two look so conflicted that even Brittany feels conflicted and confused about what to do next.

"You guys aren't making any sense," Brittany tells them.

"When we saw Santana at lunch today, she was, she just," Rachel tries to get the words out.

"She was nice," Puck says disbelievingly. The three stop walking when they reach their vehicles.

"Nice?" Brittany questions.

"Yeah, nice," Puck and Rachel answer simultaneously. Brittany just chuckles at the pairs antics.

"Guys come on, you're being ridiculous," Brittany states, not really understanding why the brother and sister are so worried.

"Britt you don't get it," Rachel begins to say, but quickly cut off by her brother's voice.

"At this risk of making an accusation, did something happen?" Rachel begins to say. Brittany just stares at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, between the two of you?" the shorter girl clarifies.

"What?" Brittany can't even believe what she's hearing.

"Did something happen between you two?" Puck asks cautiously, eyeing Brittany suspiciously. Brittany looks down at the ground and shifts on her feet.

"I heard Rachel the first time, but guys, that's ridiculous," Brittany begins to say, "Santana hates me."

"We can assure you she doesn't hate anyone," Rachel says calmly.

"But Santana had Dave attack me!" Brittany yells, but in a hushed voice so the whole parking lot didn't hear her.

"We know that-," Rachel begins to say.

"But Santana can develop a soft spot for people," Puck finishes his sister's thought. Brittany looks between the two with her head cocked to the side. Not in a million years would Brittany believe that Santana has a soft spot for her. I mean the girl basically hired some jock to beat the crap out of her! She can't possibly be turning…soft. But then again, Brittany remembers what happened between the two in the nurse's office. Of course, Santana was completely unaware that it was the blonde behind the comforting touches. Or, did she know?

"Look, we're just saying, we wouldn't be surprised," the boy says calmly. Rachel nods in agreement.

"Remember what I told you Brittany," she gives the blonde a smile and before Brittany can blink, her two friends are getting into their car. They drive off without another word.

"This can't be happening to me," Brittany says out loud to herself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


End file.
